Well, with Vista coming out soon along with DirectX 10, what do the SL devs have in mind to counter all that and remain compatible with Windows based stuff? I have cleaned XP off my machine now and have no plans to get Vista, so please dont force me to. I am a huge gamer and its what I spend 85-95% of my time on my machine doing and all im interested in an OS for really. I want to stay with SL forever, but if it cant keep up with M$ that would be such a huge shame and a waste of what could be everyone's favorite Distro.

AmpLiF1eR wrote:what's in the works at microsoft to compete with Linux ??

for compatibility issues, you can always install windows in a virtual machine.

gr.Amp

Are you kidding? Lol! Linux is nowhere near as user friendly as is XP right now. Its some kinda pipe dream I see touted about the Linux forums that its superior to Windows. It IS superior in many ways, but not in the ways that count the most with the average user. Until those glaring deficiencies are taken care of, Linux will allways be "that other os". What are those things?

1. Linux has no big gaming support.
2. Installing 3rd party software -- almost impossible, or at least so difficult that the average user will be unable to or lack the patience it takes.
3. Hardware support
4. multi-os capable. Linux must be capable of hosting Windows within itself, or be able to switch to it on user demand, with a click of a button, and without losing any data or losing functionality for either. This is a must because alot of folks simply will not give up on M$ outright, but will given time on a functional Linux they can switch back and forth in. Booting back and forth is not an option, because this takes too much time and is completely inneficient.
5. Linux still has a long long looooooooooong ways to go to get to the point where it can truthfully claim that everything "just works". To say otherwise right now is a bold faced lie and should never be stated until, in fact, EVERYTHING "just works" with no tweaking required by the user.

XP has all of the above plus more. This is due mostly to unfair business practices by M$ (IMO), yet it is true for the average user. I have never...ever..experienced a BSOD in any windows ive had running, and ive ran them all. I have never ~not~ been able to get any application working in windows with more than a simple click of a button, nor have I ever met anyone who could ~honestly~ claim that they couldnt.

Linux is getting there. No question about this and SL proves it. But its not there yet. Some day......

XP has all of the above plus more. This is due mostly to unfair business practices by M$ (IMO), yet it is true for the average user. I have never...ever..experienced a BSOD in any windows ive had running, and ive ran them all. I have never ~not~ been able to get any application working in windows with more than a simple click of a button, nor have I ever met anyone who could ~honestly~ claim that they couldnt.

I can honestly claim that I have had software that would not install in XP (versions of PGP) hardware that would not work with XP (printers, scanners, cameras), software and hardware that will not install or work in Vista (PGP, Turnpike, printers, scanners etc.) and I have had BSOD in every version of Windows (ME being the worst) from 3.1 to Vista.
I have also had equivalent problems with many Linux distros and expect to have more. It was trying Vista that prompted me to try Linux again (after a couple of years absence) as I kept thinking as I tried it "but they do this in Linux"! After trying several distros I think I've settled on Sabayon but I do find Elive fun too Vista has nothing special to offer me.

The only reason I keep my MS running alongside Linux is a disinclination to buy a new printer and scanner, a fondness for a dominoes game, and to keep myself up to date on what is happening.

Of course Cvil, but most important of all, we need folks like you churning out better and better SL versions and everyone else in the Linux community helping you guys in any way we can IMO. I think with a solid support network, Linux cant help but to succeed.

Vista has as many things going against it as it does for it, if you have read or heard anything about how tightly it locks down on what content it will allow the user to remaster through its invasive DRM practices then you know that now is a very good time for Linux in general to promote open standards.

Vista's User controls are a huge joke and offer only a superficial level of protection the the OS because it can be turned off very easily.

Its "kernel protection" scheme is just that a scheme and also can be circumvented with no skill.

I am not impressed at all by this latest offering from Microsoft.

And Microsoft is killing its leverage on the desktop by keeping game developers tied to the XBox.

Once high end games for Windows start to fall by the wayside they will have lost the only real advantage over Linux.

The Linux desktop of today is the most comprehensive, intuitive, and full featured as any Windows box off the self.

And that's not including the tremendous advantage we have of including superb office suites, CD/DVD authoring software, developmental tools, browsers, and graphics apps. Just to name a few

If you were to add together the individual costs of the apps to make a Windows install really usable it is well beyond the means of the average family, that's one reason why piracy is so prevalent.

Linux offers everything the majority of average users need and more off one install disc.

Yes gaming is holding us back, it was gaming that helped usher Windows to the forefront of the computing market, but it was also the very strong armed tactics of Redmond that pushed that along.

There has NEVER been any real innovation at Microsoft only acquisitions, partnerships, theft, and bullying.

After almost 1 solid month of having Sabayon on my machine and having it as my only OS my impression is that Linux will be the future of the desktop world. I believe this to be inevitable for a multitude of reasons, many of which you described. I migrated to Linux because of this, not because XP didnt work for me - because it has allways been a great OS, at least for me. But it has nothing over Linux today other than Gaming, and this is absolutely HUGE! Capture the gaming world, and you've got the market -- the equation is that simple. Linux must be made to be compatible with any game on the market today - free or otherwise. Baby steps are being taken in that direction (wine, cedega), but they are half hearted and feeble at best comparatively speaking. Tailor SL in this direction, and it WILL absolutely become the worlds leading Distro of distro's. King of them all.